The present disclosure relates to animal or pet restraints. More particularly, it relates to a collar and leash which are illuminated by LEDs or light sources especially used for walking a pet or animal during dusk or nighttime hours to increase visibility as well as safety for both the pet and pet owner or walker in dark or dimly lit situations and environments.
Walking a pet at night or at dusk can pose visibility and safety issues for pets and their owners. Being visible to automobiles, bikes, etc. can prevent injury or harm to either the pet or the pet owner or walker. Thus, there is a need for leashes and collars which are illuminated.
Existing collars and leashes are often reflectively illuminated and rely on external light to trigger the reflective illumination.
Still other leashes use button cells instead of batteries and thus do not have sufficient power for illuminating the leash brightly or for long periods of time.
Some existing illuminated pet leashes are made of outer components that allow for stretching (e.g., polypropylene or nylon strap and PVC tubing.) However, no existing leashes appear to allow the internal wire mechanisms of an illuminated dog leash to accommodate this simultaneous external stretching or expansion as a result of pulling or tugging on the leash. For example, when illuminated pet leashes are pulled and the outer material stretches, the tension on the internal lighting components causes them to break and results in a malfunctioning leash. Moreover, no existing illuminated pet leashes appear to allow for side to side pull forces on the wire which tends to bend the wire back and forth until it breaks.
Accordingly, there is a need for an illuminated animal or pet collar and leash which has a feature to prevent breaking of the lighting system from pulling or sideway forces and which overcomes the above-mentioned deficiencies and others while providing better overall results.